The First Thanksgiving

It was their first Thanksgiving in the remote, lonely settlement. It had been a difficult but miraculous year. The men still lived in the caves, but they had built two small houses for the six women to share and a larger Round House for their meetings and shared meals. Though there were no tress, the rocks and mortar-like slime from the pit near the red rock mountain they had named Ruby Mountain were plentiful. No one had been sick and no one had gone hungry, though growing their food had been the biggest challenge. Their first year had been filled with miracles; finding the underground stream was one of the biggest.

               Tomorrow they would gather in the large Common House where each would bring and share his or her favorite dish and give thanks for all their year of miracles.  Dr. Cline, Professor Alvarez, and Admiral Doogan decided to surprise the others with a roasted hare from the snow covered top of Ruby Mountain.  Captain Rugar, Colonel Kramer, and Reverend Brown set out for the Green Valley above the underground stream in search of roots and greens. The women went to the place they had dubbed Rumbling Canyon because it was surrounded by inactive volcanoes to gather the unusual fruit and berries that grew there. They had learned to make excellent fruit dishes that satisfied everyone’s desire for sweets.

               Thanksgiving Day dawned hazy and gray. It was not warm, but it was not as cold as usual. Even so, the fire in the Round House was more than welcome. They had built the Round House over a natural gas well that Professor Alvarez, the geologist, had found and capped with the help of the other men and a few remnants of their ship. Even on the coldest windiest day, they were all warm in the Round House. 

               Everyone arrived early except the three men who had gone to hunt the giant hare. When two hours had passed and they had not arrived, Captain Rugar and Colonel Kramer decided to search for them. However, they had not gone far when they saw a very strange site. The three men were approaching, but there were four not three. As the group drew nearer, they realized the fourth man was really a bear-like animal. Remarkably, it was tamely walking along between Alvarez and Doogan and seemed to be listening to their conversation.

               “Rugar! Kramer! Look! Come meet our new friend. He wants to live with us.”

               “What? Live with us?”

               The men returned to the Round House amazed at the remarkably human-like behavior of their new discovery. They wondered how many others like him lived deep inside Ruby Mountain. The women were speechless and a little bit fearful. However, they were happy to see that the creature enjoyed the fruity offerings they placed before him. When he picked up a fork and imitated perfectly its use as he ate his dinner from the bowl they had given him, they unanimously agreed to name him Surprisingly Almost Man and quickly shortened it to SAM. There was only one regret resulting from that wonderful Thanksgiving. They would never be able to share with their families back home on Earth the fantastic discovery of SAM, their first Martian friend, unless another colony was on its way.